Powerful Magic
by OnceUponAShipper
Summary: Emma and Regina knew the day was coming. Dani was turning 10, and it was only expected that she'd receive the powers they bound when she was just a baby. How do the parents explain what's happened? Will Daniela listen to her moms? Will she accept the new responsibilities that come with magic? SwanQueen!
1. Not Whole

**This jumps forward several years in the Swan-Mills family. There will still be stories that go back in time to fill in any blanks, but a lot will take place after this one. I'm sorry if it feels too soon for some of my loyal followers, but I hope you'll understand! Before you read this one, here are few details: Faith's powers have been bound the same the other kids' were, the twins are in school, Henry's full-time in Boston, and Dani, well, you'll see ;-)**

* * *

March 13, 2027. It was a day that Emma and Regina had prepared themselves for since the moment they bound Dani's powers nine years before. At the time, nine years seemed so far away, but now that Dani was turning 10, it couldn't have gone faster.

Dakota and August were eight years-old; their twin bond just as strong as always. Dakota's dark hair had gained a few strands of auburn as she grew older, though her eyes were never greener. August's curls disappeared as he wore his hair short, almost military-like. His green eyes matched those of his sisters. Faith, at five years-old, was by far the most precocious child Emma and Regina had raised. Her never-ending curiosity spanned years beyond her reach, and Regina felt as though her youngest daughter was an old soul. The little girl looked nearly identical to her sisters; her blonde patch of hair had darkened until it was a perfect combination of Regina and Emma's.

And, last, but not least, Dani. The budding pre-teen had grown into her skin, and was still evolving. She reached Emma's shoulders, a feat she was proud of. Her brown hair had curled slightly at the tips, and her green eyes turned into a teal-like color. She had a deep, powerful voice like Regina, but her observation skills were all Emma. Out of the Swan-Mills children, she looked most like her older brother, Henry- whom she often talked to on the phone and through video chat.

Dani always felt as though her parents weren't being completely honest. Like Henry, though not as practiced, Dani could read people and sense when they weren't telling the truth. With a few more years to polish her skills, she'd become as perceptive as her mother. Her role as the oldest at home would sometimes prove to be frustrating, however she was the best big sister anyone of her family members could ask for. It wasn't so much that she felt out of place, but that something was missing. Although young, Dani had a clear mindset. There was an impression that something wasn't quite right. Never had Dani imagined that what was missing, was something more powerful than she could ever begin to understand.


	2. The Big Reveal

When asked how she wanted to spend her birthday, Dani politely told her parents all she wanted was a small celebration at home. There was no need for extravagance, as she was perfectly happy with a quiet party. So, following their daughter's request, Emma and Regina rallied the younger children and they gathered in the dining room. With a homemade cake from Regina, and semi-neatly wrapped presents by Emma, Dani had all she wanted right there.

As the troops sang "Happy birthday," Dani stared at the luminescent candles; the bright orange glow mesmerized her, almost hypnotically. Emma sat at the other end of the table, directly across from Dani, with a smile that reached her ear lobes. Regina was in the chair beside Daniela, with Faith on her other side, and the twins adjacent to her. All five voices combined in a slightly off-pitch rendition of the theme song, as Dani conjured a wish.

When the singing ended, Dani closed her eyes and leaned forward carefully. In one deep breath, she blew out all ten candles and the scent of extinguished flames flew through her nose. Clapping erupted from her family and she opened her eyes.

Regina had her arms wrapped tightly around Dani, "Happy birthday, sweetie!"

"Man, you're gettin' old," Emma teased with a loving wink.

"And how old are you?" Dani counted with a sly grin.

"38," Emma asserted.

"For the past six years?"

Emma rolled her eyes, "Just eat your cake, Kid."

Regina hovered over her masterpiece and cut painfully delicate slices of the bakery dessert. She set a piece in front of each child, starting with Dani. Frosting was already being passed between siblings, too fast for either parent to catch. That's when Dani saw it. It happened in slow motion. August had a fistful of cake, including bright, pink frosting and pulled his hand behind his head, ready to launch. Dakota was turned away, her focus on the serving in front of her. As August released his hand, Dani reached outward with an open palm.

There, in mid-air, hung a frozen slice of cake in the middle of a purple forcefield. For a moment, Dani thought it was a dream, and prepared herself to wake up at any second. She stood there and pulled her hand in to examine it. Suddenly, the cake broke out of its jail and fell onto the floor. Dani's three younger siblings looked at her, then at their mothers. "Mom?" she asked in a shaky voice. "What- what was that?"

Regina had solidified mid-cake cutting, a sign that she had indeed witnessed her daughter's magic. Dani's eyes pleaded with her parents as the fear escalated through her system. Emma broke the silence and was at Dani's side in the blink of an eye. She rested her hands on Dani's shoulders and gave her a sympathetic look. "Dani, uh, listen..."

* * *

"I have magic?" Dani had just endured a long, complicated answer for her question. Her mothers told her much more than she was expecting to hear, and much more than she wanted to know. She scanned the small group around her, her siblings fixed around the living room as if being told a campfire story. Emma and Regina sat together, their hands connected and their jaws set tight.

"Yes, you have magic," Regina breathed. She couldn't make herself look into Dani's eyes, as she felt guilty enough. "You've had it since you were a baby."

"Dani, when we said we bound your powers, it was because we wanted you to be safe," Emma reiterated. "It was harmless, or else we wouldn't have done it."

"Harmless?" Dani asked incredulously. "I'm not stupid, Ma. I know what magic does."

Regina bit her tongue so hard, she could taste a drop of blood. "Daniela, please."

"Mom! You bound my powers? You bound all of our powers! You lied to us!" Dani shrieked. She jumped out of her chair- Henry's chair- her fists balled at her sides. Without her noticing it, the overhead light flickered quickly.

"Dani, please, you have to calm down," Regina said. "Your magic is tied to your emotions. Until you learn to control it-"

"Ugh!" Dani stomped her foot. "I don't care!" Again, the light flashed on and off. Dani saw it this time, but that didn't stop her.

"When do we get our powers?" Dakota asked, mystified.

"Shut up, Dax!" Dani grumbled. "I'm going to my room! Leave me alone!" she snapped as she ran up the stairs.

Emma gave Regina's hand a gentle squeeze, "I'll go."

* * *

"Did you know?!" Dani demanded of her older brother.

Even through the phone, Henry could hear the anger in his sister's voice. "Yeah, but-"

"Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Dani, it's not that easy-"

"Yeah, it is! You're my brother, you're supposed to help me!" Dani's words cracked as her fury grew. A light tapping at her door caught her off guard. With one hand covering the mouth piece of the phone, she yelled over her shoulder, "Leave me alone!"

"Dani, if that's Mom or Ma, you should talk to them," Henry advised.

"I don't wanna! They lied to me!"

"They did that to protect you."

"How do you know?!"

"Because they did that to me, too," he reminded her.

"That was different! That was before."

"And this is now," Henry said calmly. "Dani, listen. Breath. Are you listening?" Dani nodded on her end, and Henry could feel it. "Talk to Ma and Mom. When you're ready to hear them out, it'll make sense. I promise you, but you have to listen to them. They'll understand if you're mad."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Dani asked again, her voice barely audible.

"Because it wasn't my secret to tell."

"Dani? Can I please come in?" Emma asked from the other side of the door.

"Call me later, ok Dani? After you heard what they have to say." Henry hung up without another word.

Dani sat on her bed, her knees hugged to her chest. "What?"

The door cracked open just enough for Emma to peek through. "Can I come in?"

"What do you want?" Dani mumbled.

"To talk," Emma piped. "And to give you your present." She held a crumpled package in brown wrapping paper behind her back, hopeful that Dani would let her in. When the young girl said nothing, Emma welcomed herself onto the bed. "I'm sorry Dani. We shouldn't have lied to you."

"I don't care," the brown-haired girl grunted.

Emma reached for Dani's shoulder, but she shrugged away. The blonde could feel a tiny piece of her heart shatter. "We didn't do this to hurt you. We did it to-"

"Protect me. Yeah, whatever."

"It's true," Emma pushed. "Dani, magic... it's a powerful thing. We wanted to wait until you were older- you have to understand." She searched Dani's face for any sign of a truce. "I know it's scary... using magic for the first time. Scared the hell outta me when I did it."

"But you never use it."

"I wouldn't say never. I have in the past, but I'm not as good as your mom is."

"Who's idea was it?"

Emma's spirits were dented as the heavy question fell upon her. "It was the only choice we had, Dani." Daniela didn't fight her mother. She was too disheartened to think of a good comeback. "There's something I want you to have," Emma said as she revealed the bundle. She held it out to Dani and waited for her to accept. "It wasn't your original present, but I hope you like it." The paper crinkled loudly as Dani unwrapped her gift. She knew what it was the second she felt the material. As she held up the red, leather jacket, Dani didn't know what to say. "Go ahead. Try it on." Dani slid herself onto the floor and let her body become surrounded in the comforting coat. It felt as though Emma were hugging her. "It's a perfect fit," her mom smiled.

Dani played with the zipper as she avoided making eye contact. "Is Mom mad at me?"

"She could never be mad at you, Dani. Neither of us could." As Dani finally looked up at Emma, she could see how the years had changed her mother: her hair had sparse streaks of gray, laugh lines had etched themselves into her cheeks permanently, the white scar by her eye, and the pure love on her face. "Do you wanna talk to your mom?" Emma questioned. Dani nodded silently to herself. "I'll send her up." Before Emma left, she kissed the top of her growing daughter's head. "Go easy on her, ok?"

* * *

"Daniela?" Regina waited patiently in the hall, her hand pressed against the door.

"Come in."

When she walked through the doorframe, Regina had expected to find her daughter upset. But, she hadn't expected for her daughter to be in the familiar red jacket her wife previously owned. "I see your other mom has given you her gift."

Dani glanced down at the sleeves of her new favorite accessory. "Yeah, kinda."

"May I?" Regina motioned to the empty seat on the mattress.

"Sure," Dani shrugged.

The two sat in silence for a few seconds, but it wasn't the awkward kind. They were processing together, as the women with Mills genes did. Almost two minutes passed before either of them spoke. "Daniela," Regina said tenderly. "You were right. We shouldn't have kept your powers a secret, or any of yours for that matter. We thought we were doing the right thing, but I see now, it wasn't. I'm sorry we didn't tell you the truth."

"Did everyone know?" Dani wondered meekly. "Grandma and grandpa? Grandpa Gold? Aunt Belle?"

"Yes, they all knew." Regina pursed her lips together and furrowed her brow, her dark eyes concentrated on Dani. "Gold was the one to give us the spell, but Dani, if you're going to be mad at anyone, but mad at us. Not your grandparents."

"I'm not mad, Mom, just... ugh, I dunno," Dani shook her head. She was a mature pre-teen, everyone said so. That didn't mean she couldn't have off-moments, though.

Regina nodded slowly in understanding. For her, she still saw the tiny baby she'd once held in her arms; the toddler that had conjured a bowl of applesauce. The young girl before her reminded Regina just how much Dani had grown. "I have something for you," Regina murmured. She held out her hand, palm up, and in a cloud of purple smoke, a leather book appeared. Dani jumped back in shock. She'd seen her mother use magic very few times, as Regina had told her about the promise she'd made. "Your grandmother had a book of spells that she used to control people. It's how I learned about magic," Regina explained. "I thought I wanted power to get back at everyone who I felt betrayed me. I didn't care what happened or who got hurt, and I never listened to my teacher. 'Magic always comes with a price.'" Regina felt herself smile, though she didn't know why. "I suppose this is the price to pay for binding your powers." She turned to face Dani with her whole body, the book still in her hand. "These are all beginner spells. They're not dangerous, and they'll help you control your budding magic."

With a nervous hand, Dani took the book and flipped through the pages. "I thought you didn't like using magic, Mom."

"I don't like using it to hurt people, Dani. I know you, and I know you'll use yours for good instead of evil. Your mother and I will make sure of that."

"Where'd you get this? Grandpa Gold's shop?" She noticed the intricate design of the leather, the weathered yarn that bound the book together.

Regina chuckled, "I made it."

Dani whipped her head up and looked at the brunette. "You made this? For me?"

"For all of you," Regina said. "When your sibling's powers come in, they're going to need help."

"But I can't teach them," Dani stammered.

"Not on your own," Regina smirked. "But, together, _we_ can."

* * *

Dani spent the rest of the day in her room, and Emma and Regina understood. They gave their daughter the space she needed to digest all of the new information she'd received. The remainder of the afternoon was filled with questions about magic. The twins and Faith we now eager to have their own powers, though their parents had told them they needed to be patient.

By the end of the night, it was time to tuck the wild children into bed. Dakota and Faith now shared a room, as Dani got to have one to herself. August's living space was sandwiched between his sisters', also on his own. There were no complaints from any of the kids.

Emma and Regina had just finished saying "goodnight" the the youngest three, and it was Dani's turn. They knocked on her door and waited anxiously. When they heard a muffled "Yeah," they took that as their cue.

"Are you ready for bed?" Emma asked as she stuffed her hands into her back pockets.

Dani wore the jacket she'd inherited over her pajamas, and Emma couldn't deny that her daughter looked like a mature, blossoming young woman. "Yeah," Dani said quietly. She stuffed herself under her blankets noiselessly, ready to obtain the ritualistic bed time hugs.

Emma went first. She tilted Dani's chin upward slightly and pecked her nose. "Goodnight, Dani. Don't grow up too fast."

Then it was Regina's turn. She wasn't as quick to bid farewell as her wife had been. Regina planted herself on the bed and gazed at Dani maternally. "You know that we love you?" Dani had the covers pulled up over her shoulders as she nodded. "And you know that what I told you earlier is true? Your mother and I will always be here for you."

"I know."

"Good." Regina smiled down at the birthday girl and kissed her forehead. "I love you, Daniela."

"I love you too, Mom."

* * *

Regina was laying in bed, awaiting Emma's arrival from the bathroom. Both women had been on-edge since the morning, but mostly they were concerned about Dani. They both felt like the villains, an emotion Regina wasn't too fond of reliving.

Emma wasn't even halfway under the comforter when Regina asked, "Do you think she'll hate us forever?"

The blonde rolled her eyes, "Forever is a long time, Gina."

"No, I'm serious, Emma. Do you think she'll forgive us?"

The Savior turned off the light and felt her way to her wife. "I have no doubt in my mind that Dani will forgive us," she said genuinely. "She'll understand."

Regina nestled herself into Emma's arms, still consumed with worry. "And if she doesn't?"

"I can't think like that."

"What about the twins? And Faith? Do you think they'll forgive us?"

"They don't even realize there's anything to forgive." Emma could feel the heat of Regina's breathing on her chest, and the rapid pace of her heart beat. "Gina, you know what today is, don't you?"

"Dani's birthday," Regina responded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Yeah, but it's also something else," Emma egged on.

A lightbulb went on in Regina's brain as she remembered the second most important event. "It's our anniversary."

She could sense Emma's smile in the darkness. "Bingo."

"I can't believe I forgot. Gods, I didn't even get you anything!" As if Regina needed even more of a reason to beat herself up.

"That's ok, Gina. All I want is right here."

The Queen scoffed, "You sound just like your daughter."

"She had to get it somewhere, babe."

Regina listened to Emma's beating heart and, in a slight twist of fate, it calmed her. "They're going to be all right, aren't they? The kids."

"They're gonna be more than all right, Gina. They're gonna be great." Emma drew small circles onto Regina's back as she spoke. "Magic or no magic, our kids are gonna be awesome. You'll see."

* * *

**A/N - **Hope you all enjoyed it! Again, I know it jumps forward a bit, but it'll make sense soon! I've got a Henry-centric fic coming up, so stay tuned :-) As always, reviews are welcome and appreciated! You all rock!


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